Flaking or crushing rolls



Nov. 1, 1966 G. c. MASON ETAL 3,282,199

FLAKING OR CRUSHING ROLLS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 28, 1965 ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 1, 1966 MASON ETAL 3,282,199

FLAKING OR CRUSHING ROLLS Filed May 28, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS.

This invention relates to rolls of the type between which seeds or othermeats are passed for the purpose of crushing or flaking them so thatthey can be readily acted on by solvents to extract oil therefrom.

ln rolls of this type difliculty has been c" rienc-ed for the reasonthat the meats would be squeeze out around the end guards at the ends ofthe rolls so that this bypassed material would not be crushed or flakedto the extent necessary for cfficicnt removal of oil therefrom. Theuneven passage of material over different portions of the rolls alsoeffects the spacing of the roll surfaces particularly at the ends of therolls where conditions exist which makes uniform feeding essentiallyimpossible. Herc improper feeding causes more or less wear dependingupon whether the feed rate is higher or lower than average. This unevenwear produces areas of low pres sure where beans are improperly flakedfor efficicnt oil removal, and it necessitates frequent grinding of theends of the rolls to the same diameter as the middle portions thereof.The non-uniform feed of the meats at the ends of the rolls, by causinguneven wear on the roll surfaces, also causes heating of the ends of therolls due to metalt-o-metal contact at the portions of less wear whichgenerates heat, and thus causes greater expansion of the ends of therolls than at the middle portions thereof. T is increases the area oflow pressure where material is improperly flaked and the intensepressure at the high areas often results in chipping or breaking off ofpieces of the end of the rolls.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide means for eliminatingtight fitting end guards which prevent material by-passing rolls andfeed the roll uniformly over its entire length.

Another object is to provide means for preventing damage to the rollsdue to the uneven feed caused by the deflection of material from theends of the rolls.

Another object is to provide rolls of this type which crush or flake thematerial so as to produce a more uniform product and consequently makepossible a greater yield of oil from the material.

it is also an object to provide rolls of this type with means where-bythe material deflected from the ends of the rolls and material betweenthe rolls adjacent to the ends thereof are fed back to the rolls forfurther operation thereon.

In the accompanying drawings:

PEG. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing our improvements applied to a pairof flaking rolls.

FF 2 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 3 is an end view thereof as seen on line 33, HQ. 2.

FIG. 4 is an end elevation, partly in section, along the line l i FIG.5, of a vertical tier of crushing rolls having the improvementsembodying our invention applied thereto.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevation thereof on line 5-5, FIG. 4.

PEG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view thereof on line 66, FIG. 4.

Referring first to the flaking rolls shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9represent a pair of rolls of the type commonly employed in apparatus ofthis type in which the material to be flaked prior to extraction of oilis passed down- .lidiliid wardly between the upper faces of the rolls,rotating in opposite directions, to pass between the closely adjacentsurfaces of the rolls. The construction for feeding material between therolls may be of any usual type heretofore commonly used in i nnectionwith flaking rolls, for example, including a 1-0.- feed conveyor 10, afeeder it and a grooved roll 12 which distributes the materialsubstantially uniformly lengthwise of the rolls 8 and 9, and a feed duct13 which supplies material to be flaked to the apparatus.

In the ordinary use or" these rolls the material is fed between therolls as uniformly as possible but at the ends of the rolls the materialwill be squeezed or deflected outwardly around tight fitting, commonlyused and guards without being properly flaked, and this material mayconsequently be mixed with the properly flaked material discharged fnomthe intermediate portion of the rolls so that in the final extraction ofoil from the material that portion of the material that has beendeflected from the ends of the rolls will yield less oil than thematerial that has been properly flaked.

In accordance with our invention we eliminate end guards and providemeans at the ends of the rolls for collecting the deflected materialsand then transmitting this material back for another passage between therolls with the fresh material entering the same.

In the construction shown for this purpose we have provided a pair ofreceptacle-s arranged at the ends of the rolls for the purpose ofcollecting the material deflected therefrom. These receptacles 15 areopen at their upper ends and are provided at one side with an extensionto which conforms closely to the contour of the rolls from which thedetected material is discharged. The deflected and improperly flakedmaterial discharged from the rolls leaves the material adjacent to theends of the rolls of less volume and loosely packed so that thismaterial is also not sufliciently flaked. Consequently, the receptacles15 are so formed as to receive any material discharged from the outerends of the rolls as well as material discharged from the cylindricalportions of the rolls at short distances from the ends.

The receptacles 15 are arranged on and connected with the lower ends oftubular members 18 into which the deflecte-d material enters from thereceptacles 15. These tubular members are subjected to suction in anyusual manner and connect into a single tube 20 leading to a cycloneseparator 21 in which the air and deflected or solid particles ofmaterial are separated from each other. The air is discharged throughopening 21 and the material is collected at the bottom of the separatorand passes into rotary valve 22 to conveyor it? from which it passes tofeeder ill for distribution with the material entering the apparatus.The suction in pipes 2t} and 18 produces suction in receptacles 15,which not only collect material deflected from the ends of the rolls butalso some of the material adhering loosely to the end portion of therolls and which has not been sufficiently flaked because of some of thematerial from this portion of the rolls having been deflected outwardly,leaving smaller quantities of less compressed material at the ends ofthe rolls. This material consequently is again passed into the rolls forfurther flaking action. The suction from pipes passes into thereceptacles l5 and consequently the resulting air flow has a coolingeffect on the ends of the rolls, which minimizes the distortion of therolls. The material which has passed through the rolls and has beenproperly flaked then passes into collecting conveyor 25 from which thedeflected material is excluded by means of the receptacles 15. Thisresults in a more uniform product delivered to and from rolls 8 and 9and produces also more uniform wear over the entire length ing place atthe ends of the rolls.

3 of rolls which in turn reduces the maintenance required on theapparatus.

The extensions 16 also serve to concentrate the suction to those endportions of the rolls which have improperly flaked material and whichrequire cooling air currents.

Our invention is also applicable to crushing rolls for use in connectionwith oil bearing seeds and other materials. In apparatus of this kindrolls 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 are arranged in an upright series and thematerial may be supplied to the upper roll in any suitable manner, forexample, by means of a chute or conveyor 35. The rolls are rotated inthe direction indicated by the arrows in FIG. 4, and the materialdelivered to the upper roll is held in position to pass beneath theupper and second rolls by means of a cant board 36. As the materialpasses between these two rolls it is held in position to be passed tothe rolls 31 and 32 by means of another cant board 37. Similar cantboards 38 and 39 are provided for use in connection with the otherrolls. Each roll is also provided with a scraper 40 by means of whichmaterial which has passed between a pair of rolls is removed therefromand passed into the next pair of rolls. From the last roll the materialis discharged from the apparatus between the deflectors 41.

In connection with rolls of this kind, material is also deflected fromthe ends of the rolls, and the same difliculties consequently arise, asin the construction shown in FIGS. 1-3, due to the deflected materialpassing out of the apparatus with the properly crushed material, anddamage to the rolls, due to reduced crushing action tak- For thispurpose I have provided collecting receptacles 45 arranged at thoseportions of the ends of the rolls at which material is deflected, havingopenings 46 arranged on the sides of the receptacles nearest to the endsof the rolls. These receptacles are connected by means of suction ducts47 which connect with a cyclone separator or other means to separate thedeflected material from the air. The material is then returned to theapparatus, as described in connection with FIGS. 1-3.

The material which is deflected or squeezed out at the ends of the rollsleaves the material near the ends of the rolls in a loosened conditionand not compacted like the material farther from the ends of the rolls.It is desirable of course to remove this loosely held material, which isalso not thoroughly crushed, and feed it back to pass again between therolls, and this is done in the construction shown in FIGS. 4-6 by meansof the suction in the collecting receptacles 45. This suction draws inair and loosely held material adjacent to the ends of the rolls forfeeding back to again pass between the rolls, and also the suctionproduces air currents which cool the end portions of the roll.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials andarrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustratedin order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by thoseskilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus comprising a series of crushing rolls arranged verticallyone above the other and the adjacent rolls being in close proximity tocrush material passed between them,

(a) said rolls deflecting some of the material from the opposite endsthereof, v

(b) receptacles arranged at each of the ends of said pair of rolls andhaving openings in the sides thereof adjacent to the ends of the rollsfor receiving material deflected therefrom,

(c) suction ducts connected with said receptacles for drawing into saidreceptacles the deflected material,

(e) and said receptacles also serving to produce cooling air currents atthe ends of said rolls.

2. Apparatus comprising rolls with substantially parallel axes spacedwith their peripheries in close proximity between which material beingoperated upon is passed and from the ends of which material not properlyoperated upon is deflected,

(a) receptacles at the ends of said rolls having openings adjacent tothe ends of said rolls to receive deflected material,

(b) and air suction means connected with said receptacles and whichconvey material from said receptacles to the upper surfaces of saidrolls for again passing deflected material between said rolls.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 and including a separator to which airand deflected material is passed and in which the deflected material isseparated and again fed to said rolls for passing between them.

4. Apparatus comprising rolls with substantially parallel axes spacedwith their peripheries in close proximity,

(a) means for feeding material to be treated to said rolls,

(b) receptacles at the ends of said rolls and which collect materialdeflected from the ends of said rolls,

(c) suction means for drawing deflected material into said receptacles,and

(d) said suction means also returning said deflected material to saidfeed means.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 and including a separator whichseparates air from said deflected material before said deflectedmaterial is passed to said feed means for mixture with the incomingmaterial.

6. Apparatus comprising rolls with substantially parallel axes spacedwith their peripheries in close proximity,

(a) means for feeding material to be treated to said rolls,

(b) suction means which act on the ends of said rolls to withdrawmaterial deflected from the ends of said rolls, said suction meansproducing air currents which cool the ends of said rolls, I

(c) a separator to which the air carrying deflected material is passedand which collects said deflected material,

(d) and means for returning said deflected material to the materialinitially entering said apparatus.

7. Apparatus comprising a pair of flaking rolls arranged side by side inclose proximity and between which material to be flaked is passed, saidrolls deflecting some of the material acted upon at opposite endsthereof,

(a) a pair of receptacles arranged one at each end of said rolls andreceiving material deflected from the ends of said rolls,'

(b) extensions on said receptacles which extend under the end portionsof said rolls to receive material dropped from said rolls adjacent tosaid deflected material,

(c) suction means connected to said receptacles for withdrawing fromsaid receptacles deflected material collected therein and for producingair currents which cool the ends of said rolls, and draw loose materialfrom the ends of said rolls,

((1) said extensions restricting said suction to the end portions ofsaid rolls.

5/1962 Whitney et al 24152 10/1964 Peterson -72 X WALTER A. SCHEEL,Primary Examiner.

B. J. WILHITE, Examiner.

2. APPARATUS COMPRISING ROLLS WITH SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL AXES SPACEDWITH THEIR PERIPHERIES IN CLOSE PROXIMITY BETWEEN WHICH MATERIAL BEINGOPERATED UPON IS PASSED AND FROM THE ENDS OF WHICH MATERIAL NOT PROPERLYOPERATED UPON IS DEFLECTED, (A) RECEPTACLES AT THE ENDS OF SAID ROLLSHAVING OPENINGS ADJACENT TO THE ENDS OF SAID ROLLS TO RECEIVE DEFLECTEDMATERIAL, (B) AND AIR SUCTION MEANS CONNECTED WITH SAID RECEPTACLES ANDWHICH CONVEY MATERIAL FROM SAID RECEPTACLES TO THE UPPER SURFACES OFSAID ROLLS OF AGAIN PASSING DEFLECTED MATERIAL BETWEEN SAID ROLLS.